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Post by legios on Mar 9, 2014 21:13:29 GMT
I found AvsX to be very much the standard "these two teams of heroes fight each other just because" kind of thing in a lot of respects. It felt, for the most part, like a throwaway thing trying to convince itself it was important.
I do agree that Cyclops was poorly handled. The story seems to try to hard to justify why he is making terrible decisions, when you don't really need that for Cycke - after all, he is one of the few Marvel characters who can claim to have had a full on proper nervous breakdown in the past (someone really should have given him the name of Daredevil's therapist...) and really all you needed to do is declare that he has cracked under the pressure. That said, I think they have now reached the point where Cyke is no longer viable as a protagionist. They have to either punt him all the way over to proper villianhood as a cautionary tale, or just put him down. (And I say that as a long-time fan of the character).
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 10, 2014 9:30:57 GMT
I think some of the stuff coming out of Avengers vs X-Men (sadly you have to write it long hand cos there's a separate AvsX book which is pish filler an Avenger fights a X-Man) is rather good.
Uncanny Avengers and All New X-Men - I've had the first few issues of each cheap on Comixology - seem rather good. However I think the Avangers titles in general maybe are suffering a bit post Bendis.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 18, 2014 19:59:44 GMT
Secret Avengers is one of the last Marvel series I'm buying new in trade.
And I haven't been enjoying recent volumes. 2's just turned up and it's .... meh. It's lost everything that made the title great. 1 more trade and I'm out at the end of the current volume.
It's a shame because the two Brubaker volumes and the Ellis volume are brilliant.
That'll just leave Hawkeye remaining as a new in trade purchase. All by buying then will be older stuff.
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Post by The Doctor on Mar 21, 2014 16:37:12 GMT
Only 3 months after I subbed, the first delivery of the Marvel's Mightiest Heroes HC's turned up on my doorstep today!
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 26, 2014 23:27:40 GMT
Yay! What might* be the trade of the year arrived today: Avengers Absoloute Vision v2. Stern hitting it out the park, and it contains my first few Avengers issues I ever owned in 246 and 253.
* I say might because there's an Avengers: The Legacy of Thanos trade following on from this out in a month or two! And that's got the destruction of the Savage Land and Avengers trip to Skrull space in it?
Everyone rates Under Siege, and rightly so, but Stern had been doing sterling work for years beforehand. You need both Absoloute Vision volumes and the The Legacy of Thanos
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Post by legios on Mar 27, 2014 22:58:07 GMT
Shock! Dull surprise! My library has started changing its stocking policy. All of a sudden the other halves of a number of Marvel Trade stories have materialised, so I grabbed a load of stuff and had a bit of an Iron Binge...
Secret Origin of Tony Stark Vol 2 - ok, it swerves away from where I thought it was going with the big reveal about Tony's origin, in a way which I found genuinely quite entertaining. On the other hand it felt like there was a lot of fiddle-faddling around to get there. Far too much of the villian standing around talking about how big the Godslayer is, and how clever Tony Stark is and how hard it will be to find him. It felt like a story which could have been told at a much better pace (but then it wouldn't fit neatly into two trades I guess). The idea is solid, but I wasn't sold on the execution.
Stark Resilient: meanwhile feels like a mixture of some decent ideas of what to do with Iron Man if you want to go towards the "high tech" rather than the "superhero". There are some great ideas here - it really wants to explore the transhumanist implications of Stark's Extremis transformation, and there are some wonderful moments that carry the idea of Stark as a cyborg example of Human 2.0 to some interesting places. In the same way, I like the idea of Stark turning around and not just walking away from military conflicts but outright declaring his intent to kick over the industrial-military complex, going after the idea of harnessing his know-who to bring cheap, clean energy to everyone. And in that light, it makes sense -at a ti e when Stark's big thing is launching a true zero-emissions electric car - that he is pitted against a rival suit called "Detroit Steel", Detroit being the half-derelict home of the mostly defunct US car industry. It is good symbolism and it plays on multiple levels. Unfortunately it does seem to trip over its technobabble a little bit. Using "weaponised bit-torrent" for something that ... really isn't makes it feel like a writer is throwing cool Internet buzzwords on the page without really understanding them. And the revision of "repulsors" being the effecitvely-magic energy devices that power Stark's armour, instead of being his beam weapons feels...awkward. At least it makes sense of the bibbling of Norman Osborn during Daaaarrrk Reiiiigggnn, when he was talking about running out of repulsors to power the Iron Patriot (at the time it read like he was worried that he was using up the global supply of laser beams... ). Resilient is one of those stories whose reach exceeds its grasp I think. Turning Iron Man into a study of technological advancement and the cusp of transhumanism is a decent idea, but not one that can really sit well with the status quo of the Marvel Universe. I think all this stuff would have worked better as a stand alone mini-series really.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 1, 2014 9:23:59 GMT
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Apr 15, 2014 22:40:02 GMT
Just finished Doctor Strange Masterworks vol. 5, collecting the Englehart / Brunner run and the start of Englehart / Colan.
The stuff with Brunner is absolutely amazing, among the best creative runs on a comic I have read. The Colan part is less interesting (and I am a Colan fan!), to the point where I'm not going to get the next volume unless I find out it picks up a bit (I don't buy MMWs casually). Well worth owning vol. 5 for the good stuff though.
The Iron Man: War Games Epic Collection arrived the other day, collecting the run with Byrne as writer. I have fond memories of this, #265 being the first US-format comic I ever bought, and plan on diving straight into it.
-Jim
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Apr 16, 2014 21:16:57 GMT
Picked up the first of the Jim Valentino GOTG trades and the collection of the Matt Wagner Demon mini from DC.
Love the Valentino GOTG run, such a shame it was truncated (and not due to Image, but a spat with the editor Craig Anderson) as his story arc was one I'd have loved to have seen.
The Demon mini was more from pure nostalgia I remember getting the last issue from the Post Office in High valleyfield when I was visiting my Gran many, many moons ago. An entertaining tale though. The paper it's printed on, like most DC trades is shitty though.
Andy
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 16, 2014 21:51:59 GMT
2nd Valentino GotG is due soon.
Meanwhile....
The second Cornell/Davis Wolverine trade showed up a few weeks back. Fab stuff from Davis.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 17, 2014 19:18:18 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 17, 2014 20:17:03 GMT
Not a surprise, but a shame the format has passed. It was a great way to read huge chunks of Marvel back issues at an affordable price-point that otherwise were not in print or prohibitively expensive to find in other formats. A lot of Marvel's 60's to 80's comics also looked much better in black and white too, at least in the context of a time before properly remastered coloured strips began to become available outwith very expensive Masterworks volumes. I gained an appreciation of artists such as John Buscema Sr and Gene Colan in black and white that I had never really got from seeing their stuff in colour. Gene Colan in particular became one of my favourite US artists after seeing his Tomb of Dracula stuff in glorious and moody black and white.
It is also often forgotten by publishers that it's a good idea to have a budget entry-level price point to entice new and lapsed readers. I know I read heaps of stuff I would not have otherwise as the value of them was immense. So many pages for such a cheap price.
I would be nice if the Essentials had an afterlife in digital editions. Sell them cheap and they could do well.
As an aside, I have Essential Sub-Mariner and Essential Thor vol 6 from the library at the top of my current reading pile!
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Apr 17, 2014 20:32:04 GMT
I would be nice if the Essentials had an afterlife in digital editions. Sell them cheap and they could do well. But if its digital, then there's no benefit to being in black and white rather than colour. |
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 17, 2014 20:48:30 GMT
Why not? Digital is the perfect medium for giving the reader choice. Easy way to provide cheaper price points.
I recall a Wrestling digital comic Turnbull once showed me where a swipe over panels could flip between final version and sketch version. No reason why older digital comics could not include colour and black versions. Just switch between the two. A nice extra option. Added value.
-Ralph
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Apr 17, 2014 22:23:26 GMT
I agree, as Ralph said B&W can give you a real insight into and appreciation of an artist, it would be a lovely bonus but arguably even better as a cheaper version (can't see them doing that though). I definitely appreciated Kirby more when I first saw his work without colour.
I first read Claremont / Cockrum / Byrne X-Men in borrowed Essentials volumes, so it will always have a special place for me.
Is the Essential Sub-Mariner the silver age stuff with Colan on art? I recently finished the first MMW of those, top stuff.
-Jim
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 18, 2014 8:03:35 GMT
Yes, it's Silver Age SM which I have read very little of it (I know it mostly from cartoon) so looking forward to getting into it.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 21, 2014 20:03:17 GMT
Essential Thor 6 was fun. Love John Buscema and Joe Sinnot in black and white. So dynamic.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 23, 2014 20:14:34 GMT
Essential Sub-Mariner was ok. The early Tales to Astonish stuff has a fine vein of throbbing madness but after a while Stan the Man clearly runs out of ideas and it flounders somewhat. Easy to see why this is one of the more overlooked series from Silver Age Marvel. Love the mad early stuff though.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 23, 2014 21:42:16 GMT
The Thanos Imperative: very enjoyable cosmic nonsense.
Bendis Guardians of the Galaxy 1: A whole trade should not take 10 mins to read.
-Ralph
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Jim
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Post by Jim on Apr 24, 2014 7:08:13 GMT
Essential Sub-Mariner was ok. The early Tales to Astonish stuff has a fine vein of throbbing madness but after a while Stan the Man clearly runs out of ideas and it flounders somewhat. Easy to see why this is one of the more overlooked series from Silver Age Marvel. Love the mad early stuff though. I guess the first half would roughly coincide with the MMW vol. 1 which was mostly great fun, although the chase after Dorma and Krang started to drag on a bit toward the end. -Jim |
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 28, 2014 16:16:29 GMT
Picked up Marvel Firsts: The 1970's vol 3 from FPG at the weekend as it was a tenner. Very nice trade indeed. I did think to pick up vols 1 and 2 while there as well as the 1980's one but as they were £30 each (!) they stayed on the shelf.
I must have the rest though. I must. Completist urge!
-Ralph
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Post by legios on May 1, 2014 11:28:47 GMT
My library has definitely upped its game when it comes to trades. Recently got a big pile out and am working my way through. Two Mark Waid Daredevil trades opened proceedings - really liking Waid's run, he's stepped back from the grimly serious crime book thing to go back to the idea of DD as a swashbuckler which I do think works really well. Great to see some fun banter between Matt and Foggy as well.
From there I went a bit more serious with the Johnny Red trade "Angels over Stalingrad". Can't beat a good black-and-white war comic, and this is a really good one. Pacy, exciting and with a grim undertone which suits the Russian Front setting. Storming stuff,
Next stop will be the complete "Blackhawk The Interplanetary Gladiator" which looks rather like a book of two very distinct halves. We shall see where this goes...
Karl
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Post by The Doctor on May 1, 2014 22:40:29 GMT
I find it's always worthwhile running periodic searches on library online services to see what they've got.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on May 2, 2014 18:13:03 GMT
Avengers: Heavy Metal (#286-293)has been procured! £19 in shop or free from the library. Tough choice.
This is the storyline where all the robot foes team up to get the Avengers.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on May 3, 2014 17:28:23 GMT
And a fabulous read it was too. Are the issues that follow in print? I need to see more of the Cross Time Council of Kangs!
Thor/Iron Man: God Complex: rubbish.
Steve Rogers: Super Soldiers: ok, but there's really two issues of story stretched out to fit a 4-issue mini in length. Nice to see the return of a certain villain.
Gillen Iron Man vols 1&2: Bit wobbly but picks up massively when Land is off art and Tony goes into space. Enjoyably bonkers secret origin for Tony though. I would read more of this.
Just started Essential Marvel Two-In-One vol 4. The opening issue confused me. It has Xemnu the Titan. Ralph loves Xemnu the Titan. But it also had Wonder Man in it. Ralph hates Wonder Man.
-Ralph
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Post by legios on May 4, 2014 19:45:01 GMT
Two-thirds of the way through "Blackhawk" now and it really is a thing of two halves. The first half, published in Tornado is the wonderfully unlikely story of a Nubian slave given his freedom in return for forming an auxiliary cohort, the untouchables, criminals and other dodgy types who are all that will fight with him. He has unlikely bloodthirsty adventures fighting rebellious jews, druids, and the British uprising (Boudicca is in it for a few chapters) before returning to Rome to thwart the machinitions of the evil centurion who was enraged by Blackhawk's (he is black, and accompanied by a desert hawk to which he imputes magical powers) being freed from slavery. To be honest I think Gerry Finley-Day knew the writing was on the wall for Tornado because this feels like it brings the story to a close. But then Exciting News happens to Tornado, and the Blackhawk strip finds itself teleported to 2000AD, and to fit with that comics ethos there can't be adventures in the Roman Empire. So Blackhawk finds himself beamed up by space aliens who make him fight as a gladiator in a space arena. Gerry Finley-Day...declines to write this new version...and so is not beamed into space. So it is Alan Grant who writes Blackhawk's adventures in the spaceship Stadium (for that is its name) and how he teams up with a homicidal bear armed with a large axe (and who prays to a god of Chop-chop that he will get plenty of chances to do chop-chop with his axe) a d a dwarf named Zog, to seize his freedom.... And now he has been pulled into a black hole where he has to fight the evil The Beast in his quest to get back his stolen soul...
Rarely have I seen such a dramatic tone shift from one week to the next. It is literally like the comic has been dropped on its head between issues. I think on balance that I prefer the pseudo-historical nonsense that GFD did in the first half, but the early Alan Grant stuff in the second is memorable for a certain charming unhingedness. It is obvious that Blackhawk s muddling through with only half an idea what is going on, and their is a certain manic sense that suggests the writer isn't too sure either. But it dies have a certain bonkers charm to it.
Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 6, 2014 9:24:37 GMT
Avengers: Heavy Metal (#286-293)has been procured! £19 in shop or free from the library. Tough choice. This is the storyline where all the robot foes team up to get the Avengers. -Ralph And a fabulous read it was too. Are the issues that follow in print? I need to see more of the Cross Time Council of Kangs! no it's not. And sadly there's a good reason for it. It ain't any good. And the effects of Stern jumping ship are felt: Heavy Metal Wars is the last thing he wrote or, in the case of the last few issues, plotted I suggest you go the other way and look for the following volumes
Trial of Yellowjacket
Absoloute Vision 1 & 2
Legacy of Thanos (June)
Once & Future Kang
Under Siege
Epic Collection: Judgement Day (July)
I've got a feeling you've read the Kang issues in Once & Future already: that has the Kang council in it too. I have them all so you can have a look when you next visit |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 11, 2014 18:42:50 GMT
Picked up the Day of Judgement trade from FPG as it was cheap.
Great wee mini, Hal becomes The Spectre with great art from Matt Dow Smith.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on May 22, 2014 15:01:52 GMT
Struggling through Fighting American by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. This was their 50's Not-Captain America and Bucky series. Not a classic by Golden Age standards and pretty generic. I can see why it is mostly forgotten. For those curious I would say it is more of a library loan than a purchase.
-Ralph
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Post by The Doctor on May 23, 2014 17:15:21 GMT
Pfffff. That was a chore.
I don't buy many physical trades due to cost and space issues (indeed, many had to go to Oxfam for this reason) but I red-hazed when I saw 'Spider-Man: Ghosts of the Past' for it contains the issues of Spidey that were printed in the UK in Spider-Man and Zoids so are my strongest childhood memories of Spider-Man stories (especially the Hobgoblin stuff and the issue where Spider-Man's fights his evil black costume at a bell tower). Also has the story where the Beyonder turned a building into gold which was printed in a Secret Wars II Special over here. Really, if I was going to own a Spider-Man book it would be this one!
First of the Epic Collection trades I've picked up. The trade dress is very nice.
-Ralph
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